I've always loved the diversity of subject matter that ends up in magazines like Arthur, but always wondered how they stay afloat. Advertising revenue can't be the only thing that keeps these types of magazines running.

So my question is, how common is it for these types of magazines to simply blink out of existence or become mired in bullshit adverts? What does it take to start and maintain a good free mag? Loss of funds via the nose for decades? The expectation that you're never ever going to make money doing it, and shouldn't quit your day job?